Gathering enough pieces of the puzzle to realize that a decisive piece was still missing was, at this stage, a satisfactory result. Replaying the information he had acquired in his mind, Tatsuya hurried to the Student Council Room where he was keeping Miyuki waiting.
(I took a little longer than I intended...)
Even though it was after school, today was Saturday. It was still light outside, and Tatsuya wasn't worried about getting home late. Since she said she was working, Honoka was likely with her. It was unthinkable that those two would have eaten without waiting for him.
(Should I have told them to go ahead and eat?)
If Tatsuya ordered it, Miyuki would suppress her personal feelings and obey, but he didn't want to enforce that kind of relationship over something so trivial.
Tatsuya skipped steps as he bounded up the stairs, rushing to the Student Council Room. The moment he arrived at the door, it opened as if his arrival had been timed.
"Oh, Tatsuya."
"Hey, Lina. How are you doing?"
Lina had been about to leave the Student Council Room, but she stopped when she saw Tatsuya. Passing by her, Tatsuya lightly tapped her on the shoulder as he asked.
"Never better. Miyuki, I'll stay after all."
As if returning the favor, Lina tapped Tatsuya twice on the shoulder—pon, pon—before doing an about-face and announcing her decision to Miyuki.
"Staying?"
"They invited me to have lunch with them."
Catching sight of the dining server inside the room, Tatsuya nodded deeply in understanding.
"Tatsuya-san, please take a seat."
"We will prepare everything. Lina, you sit down too."
Taking Tatsuya's arrival as their signal, Honoka began operating the cooking panel while Miyuki moved briskly to brew tea. Watching them, Lina glanced at Tatsuya, who offered a wry smile.
"Come to think of it, what business did you have in the Student Council Room, Lina?"
"Things have gotten kind of annoying lately, so I was thinking about accepting the school's request."
"Annoying?"
As Tatsuya tilted his head in question, Honoka and Miyuki placed the items they had prepared in front of him.
"Tatsuya-san, you know that Lina doesn't belong to any club, right?"
"Yeah."
"The competition to recruit her has been heating up, Brother."
"And it seems the school doesn't want things getting any hotter, so they proposed making Lina a temporary Student Council officer while she's studying abroad."
Whether it was a brilliant display of teamwork or not, Honoka and Miyuki politely explained exactly what he wanted to know.
"Recruiting her with that much passion...? They must be very interested in Lina."
"No... They're planning to make a photobook of Lina and sell it."
"...Does our school even have a photography club?"
"It's the Art Club's photography team. Their scheme seems to be to get Lina into the Calisthenics Club and take pictures of her."
Magical calisthenics often involved performing in distinctive costumes. Mirage Bat, in which Miyuki and Honoka had competed, was a sport that had evolved from calisthenics.
"It would certainly make for a pretty picture, but trying to profit off it is questionable."
"Do you want to see Lina dressed like that, Brother?"
"Is that so? If it's Tatsuya, I wouldn't mind letting him look."
"...I phrased that poorly. Since we know she isn't interested in the first place, planning such things based on wishful thinking isn't right."
"You're right! But I'm glad."
"About what?"
Tatsuya asked, tilting his head at Honoka's sudden relief.
"Because... I was worried about what I'd do if Tatsuya-san thought he wanted a photobook of Lina."
"I told you, didn't I, Honoka? There is no way Brother would think of something so vulgar."
"But Miyuki, even you were a little worried. Fretting about what you'd do if Tatsuya became obsessed with me."
"Lina!"
"...Shall we eat for now?"
Exasperated by the vacuous conversation the three were unfolding, Tatsuya made a suggestion. He couldn't think of any other way to calm the commotion.
"You're right. Keeping Tatsuya-san waiting is out of the question."
"Indeed, Honoka. Making Brother wait is a crime worthy of capital punishment."
"I didn't realize Tatsuya was that important."
"..."
Wondering what a third party would think if they were here, Tatsuya looked at the two beautiful girls directing their blind adoration toward him. When their eyes met his for just a few seconds, both blushed and looked away.
"So, what do you want to do, Lina?"
"About what?"
"About the temporary Student Council officer position. It's true that if you use Student Council duties as a reason, the recruitment attempts will likely subside. As a matter of fact, there are zero clubs trying to recruit Miyuki."
"So I hear... But being told I have Student Council duties when I'm already busy with various things is a bit much."
Tatsuya, knowing exactly what Lina's "various things" entailed, had to fight to suppress a wry smile.
"What do you do after school, Lina? We haven't really hung out much."
"Well, Honoka and Miyuki have Student Council work, Tatsuya has Public Morals Committee patrols, and Erika and the others say they have club activities. Everyone seems so busy. Besides, I'm busy too—studying about Japan and reviewing my classes."
"I see. It's true that we are busy, but you seem busy as well, Lina."
"I have to pay my respects to General Kudou while I'm in Japan, and meet with people connected to him, too."
"Is that so."
"Ah, right. Come to think of it, among those associates, there was a woman who was asking about you, Tatsuya."
Perhaps recalling it due to the flow of conversation, Lina shot Tatsuya a rather sharp look.
"Who?"
"Um, I think she said... she was the General's granddaughter."
"I see."
"Is she an acquaintance?"
"Honoka has met her too, right? It's Fujibayashi-san."
During the disturbance in Yokohama, Honoka had acted alongside Tatsuya and had met Kyouko. Perhaps that was enough to convey the context, as Honoka didn't pry any further.
"Being acquainted with such a beautiful woman... Tatsuya, you really can't be underestimated."
"We're just slight acquaintances. It's not the kind of relationship you're imagining, Lina."
"I-I wasn't imagining anything weird, okay?"
Watching Lina answer while her eyes darted around the room, Miyuki struggled to hold back her laughter.
"So, will you become a Student Council officer, Lina?"
"Well, if it's this much fun, I suppose I could. But I'll decide after watching what the work involves for today."
She didn't decide immediately, but she seemed interested. Afterward, when Azusa and Isori arrived and the work began in earnest, Lina watched the proceedings intently the entire time.
(Author's Note)
A harem? Or a bed of nails?
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